10 Classic Romantic Movies

Some movies are enduring classic stories of romance. There is a certain magic about these tales of love between the most unlikely of people and who meet in the strangest of circumstances. But these movies stay with you long after you have watched them.

The top ten classic romantic movies are as follows:

1. Roman Holiday (1953)
   
   Audrey Hepburn stars as Princess Anne who is on a royal tour of European capitals. When in Rome, she grows tired of her sheltered, regimented life and sneaks off one night from the palace on the back of a delivery truck. She falls asleep on a park bench where she is found by Joe Bradley, an American reporter who takes her to his apartment for the night without realizing her identity. But next morning, he realizes he has hit pay dirt and he promises his editor a juicy story. The reporter and the princess spend a mischievous day together in Rome but by night the princess realizes the duty towards her country and returns o to the palace. Joe Bradley now finds himself in love with the princess and finds it impossible to blow the whistle on her day out in Rome. The movie has a bitter sweet ending when the twosome must go their separate ways despite being in love.
    
2. It Happened One Night
   
   A pretty, rebellious high society girl, Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) marries an odious King Wesley but her wealthy father has it annulled. To escape the control of her father she jumps off the family yacht in Miami and heads to New York. On a bus, she meets dapper reporter Peter Warne. They decide to travel together as Warne sees the potential of a juicy story and she needs his help. By the time they reach New York, they have had many adventures together and fallen in love with each other though they ill not admit it. Finally Ellie thinks Warne has helped her only to win the prize money offered by her father. But all is well that ends well with the two clearing up all the misunderstandings. A sweet Frank Capra offering.
    
3. My Fair Lady (1964)
   
   adapted from hit Broadway musical based on a play by George Bernard Shaw, this movie is about a wager between Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) a phonetics expert and his friend Colonel Pickering that he can transform a dirty, Cockney flower seller named Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) into an elegant society lady. Eliza is trained in manners and accent by Higgins and his team and surely enough, makes her debut in London high society. Higgins spreads the word that she is a Hungarian princess and she wins the love of the aristocrat Freddy Eynsford Hill. Eliza is in love with the professor but deserts him when he claims all credit for her transformation and expresses no feelings towards her at all. When Higgins discovers that she has gone into the arms of Freddie, he realizes that he has grown accustomed to her face and is in love with her. But is it too late?
    
4. Casablanca
   
   Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) is the owner of the hottest night spot in Casablanca during World War 2. Casablanca is the vantage point for European resistance leaders fleeing to America. On e night, there walks into Rick’s café a Czech resistance leader, Victor Lazlo and his beautiful wife Ilsa. Now Ilsa happens to be the only woman who Rick ever loved and who stood him up in a Paris railway station, years back. The old wounds are re-opened and Rick must deice between his love for Ilsa and his moral duty towards Lazlo. This movie is regarded as the best of the classics by many fans.
    
5. Gone with the wind
   
   A tale from the Civil war and the old south. Scarlett O Hara is a tempestuous young woman who is in love with Ashley Wilkes who is set to marry her cousin Melanie. In a fit of anger, she marries Melanie’s brother. Soon she is widowed. She hopes that Ashley will return to her. The war transports her from the plantation Tara to battle torn Atlanta. After the war is lost, she returns to Tara and struggles to maintain it. In order to escape from poverty she marries her sister’s beau. She becomes a widow for the second time and finally marries the dashing Rhett Butler who has chased her half her life. By the time she realizes the value of Rhett’s love for her, it is too late and Rhett leaves her with the immortal line,” Frankly dear, I don’t give a damn.”
    
6. An Affair to remember
   
   Nicky Ferrante is a handsome playboy and Terry McKay is a beautiful night club singer. They have a romance on a cruise from Europe to New York though they are committed to two other people. They leave each other with an agreement to meet at the top of Empire State Building in New York after six months to decide on their future together. But Terry suffers an accident and fails to turn up on the appointed date. Nicky thinks she stood him up but finally discovers the reason. Can they be united? Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr play the lead roles.
    
7. The Philadelphia Story
   
   Philadelphia heiress Tracy Lord separates from her husband C.K. Dexter Haven shortly after their marriage. Two years later, Tracy is set to wed respectable George Kittredge. Dexter has been working for "Spy" magazine. Dexter lands up at the Lord s mansion the day before the wedding with writer Mike Connor and photographer Liz Imbrie, determined to spoil things. Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn and James Stewart star in this love triangle.
    
8. The Shop around the Corner
   
   Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart star in the lead. Two shop sales persons Alfred and Klara cannot stand each other. But unknown to them, they have been corresponding through anonymous letters to each other and have fallen for each other. It is Alfred who discovers the identity of his letter based lover and tries to get to like her though she will have none of it. The two unite after some confusing tangles.
    
9. Sabrina
   
   Starring the elegant and gorgeous Audrey Hepburn as Sabrina. Sabrina is the daughter of the chauffer of wealthy family and grew up with a crush on one of the scions of the family, David. David is a playboy and hardly notices her. The other brother is too busy and hard working. Now Sabrina goes through finishing school in Paris and returns as a sophisticated woman captivating both the brothers, David and Linus. Sabrina now finds herself shifting her affection to Linus.
    
10. Gigi
    
    Gigi is the bubbly, tom boy granddaughter of a Parisian courtesan who was the mistress of a wealthy man. This man’s nephew Gaston seeks the company of Gigi and her grandmother in an attempt to find refuge from the superficial lifestyle of Parisian high society in the early 1900’s. Gaston falls in love with Gigi when he realizes she has matured into a woman.